Reviewsof Briarwood Healthcare and Nursing

I am a friend or relative of a current/past resident

My husband spent almost 2 months in the rehab section of Briarwood. Following an unpleasant experience at another, much fancier facility in Needham, I was relieved that the care at Briarwood was very good. The staff was friendly, caring, and competent. Pushing the call button generally received a response in less than a minute. The food was institutional, with substitutions always available if the entree brought to the room was not appetizing. I enjoyed wheeling my husband to the pleasant dining room, where there were more choices and he ate better there. I was allowed to eat with him and even enjoyed shrimp on a couple of occasions.
The rehab care was excellent -- 5 stars for the rehab staff. Before my husband was discharged, two staff members visited our home for an assessment and made very helpful recommendations for making adjustments which would help him live safely at home.
My husband was not interested in the activities available to patients, but I noticed there were daily activities and events.
The facility itself was clean and offered spaces outside the patient rooms, including a library with piano, and a sunroom with computer facilities, a large TV (patients had individual TV's in their rooms), and a coffee maker for anyone's use. This room looked out onto a pleasant patio, for warmer weather use.
The primary reason I would not give Briarwood 5 stars, was the bathroom situation, with one bathroom situated between two double rooms. If a bathroom was occupied, staff would need to be called to transport the patient to another bathroom outside the room.
But the very competent and helpful rehab staff, as well as respectful and attentive nursing and general staff, would rate 5 stars.

I am a friend or relative of a current/past resident

My mother rehabbed at Briarwood recently after a total knee replacement. The staff were warm and welcoming, her first day there, she was up walking for 15 minutes on the Alter G treadmill. It was amazing! She was discharged home to her second floor condo within 7 days. During her stay my father was able to join her for meals at no extra charge. This was her first time at Briarwood and would definitely rehab here again and recommend this facility to others.

I am a friend or relative of resident

My father was a patient at Briarwood from last May 2015 until he died there in August 2015. He was re-hospitalized 3 more times during his first 7 days there. He was moved 7 different times between 2 floors. The care was horrible. I wanted him relocated to another facility but my mother refused. One time a toilet overflowed in the shared bathroom between two rooms. The staff ignored this all day until the next day. All of the patients share one bathroom between two rooms. The bedrooms are not air-conditioned. The staff is unattentive. It was a horrible and very sad last 3 months of my father's life. I tried calling the State of Massachusetts, the department that oversees nursing homes several times, and never received a return call.

I am a friend or relative of resident

A close friend of mine has stayed at Briarwood several times over the past 6 years or more. The original ownership was good, the food decent, the staff attentive. A new ownership transpired at some point and it has been downhill from there. I don’t understand how anyone could give this facility a good rating. I’ve seen many roommates of my friend come and go and they all leave weighing less than when they came. The food is consistently cold, served at inconsistent times, soggy, stale, and lacking of any nutritional value. My friend needs assistance cutting her food and there is a lack of help with this. When an aide is needed to get people to the bathroom it can take a half hour or more and I’ve shown up where it was too late. We just found out that my friend who has been there since December and has not had a shower once. Her conditions have degenerated because of a lack of care and it’s been very difficult to come to Briarwood and witness all of this. She will be moving to a different facility and her roommate as well. I would highly NOT recommend Briarwood as there is a lack of care and compassion there.

I am a friend or relative of resident

My father has been at this facility for nine months, and I visit nearly every day. It is no longer privately owned; now it belongs to a small chain based in New Jersey.
In general the care is good. The nurses do not do much hands-on care; they mainly dispense medication. The CNAs are competent and have learned to handle my father fairly well. He is always clean and they track his eating and toileting. I have never heard raised voices or seen staff handle patients roughly.
We have run into the frustrations one expects in an institution. My father's denture plate was lost for a week, then mysteriously reappeared. Response time is slow; if he needs the bathroom or has another request, it can take half an hour before anyone shows up. Communication is spotty. Thank goodness for a wonderful nursing supervisor who is our go-to person for any issues.
The food is good, and Briarwood makes an effort to welcome families--family members are welcome at meals; there are special holiday dinners for families; etc. Bizarrely, the place was recently "redecorated" in a way that makes it far less attractive--cheap-looking, uncomfortable stiff chairs in the lobby instead of a welcoming couch; ugly wallpaper in about 12 different patterns.
I appreciate the small size and the fact that all the staff know my father, so I can leave him in various areas knowing that he will be tended and returned to his room.
It's also located in a very lovely residential neighborhood where we took many long wheelchair walks in the summer.

I visited this facility

I liked Briarwood a lot also, but they just didn't have any openings. They also specialized in Alzheimer's. It has a little hospital right by it. It was very nice, and the persons that I spoke to all seemed very nice also. I thought it was more of a mixed group, although they keep their memory care patients to themselves. It was another small place, and I thought it was another good place for people with Alzheimer's and dementia. It was very clean and prettier than the Alzheimer's center that my mother-in-law's in right now. The people working there all seemed friendly too.

I am a friend or relative of resident

My grandmother was there and we had many problems with them. At one point they compleatly lost her glasses witch she can not see at all without them. They floor she was on always smelt, there were a few times others people where wearing her cloths. They didn't change her clothing everyday. There were times they didn't not put her teeth in her mouth. My family and I were not at all happy with the place. I suggest not putting a family member into this facility.

I am a friend or relative of resident

My Mom was a resident here for 6 years until she recently passed away. There were multiple problems at Briarwood starting with Management who was more about making $$ than Patient care. The A/C was broken during 2 Heat waves in the Summer, Management did nothing about this, so Families had to go out and purchase fans or portable A/C's to combat against the oppressive heat. My Mother never got PT and we were constantly lied to about this, until she lost the ability to walk. A lot of the Nurses had nasty attitudes and could care less about PT care. Most recently and what I believe caused my Mother's death, was the Construction going on and the moving of Patients so they could make way for a short term Rehab. My Mom had a Roommate that belonged on the Alzheimers Unit who screamed all night. My Mom was so weak and sleep deprived and Management could care less. My Mom passed away and their new Director of Nursing came in, offered her condolences, then asked us how long it would take for us to pack up her belongings, because "they were in the service industry and they had to make way for someone else to come into this room. This lack of compassion and disregard for human emotion, just went to prove how cold these people really were. I would not put my loved one in this place, it is the quickest way to death.

I am a friend or relative of a resident

Briarwood was an excellent facility with a respectful, professional, and attentive staff. It was a pleasant environment, which is not always the case at assisted living/ nursing homes. There were frequent events that kept the residents entertained, like musicians, dancers, films, etc. They had a fish tank, as well as a dog living on the second floor, so the residents could interact with animals. I had visited other nursing homes in the past that were depressing and dreary, with rude staff and a generally apathetic environment where the elderly did not seem to be thriving at all. This facility was far different- residents had good relationships with staff, and with other visitors. Keeping the mind engaged is important at that age, and Briarwood had really great environment. Some of the healthier residents would play Nintendo Wii and other games. It seemed like visitors were frequent enough and even residents who did not have family visit frequently were kept from being lonely by the staff and friends they made within the facility. The food was good and staff took pains to serve people right with choking hazards, chewing ability, and other food issues in mind. Getting old is not always fun, but in terms of great medical care from superb staff, Briarwood took excellent care of my grandmother during her later years. I would say she did better there than she did living alone when her husband passed away.

Other

My sister was at the Briarwood Rehab following an extremely severe encephalitis attack. She was in a coma for a few days, and she was not lucid or coherent for about two or three months. Most of her visitors did not expect her to live and I think some of the staff didn't expect her to live.
I visited her daily, and I was happily amazed at the high-level care, compassion, encouragement, and patience the staff exhibited. They exhibited these traits and were never abrupt with her, even when she was extremely sick, incoherent, and uncommunicative. She very slowly, but completely, recovered from her illness. She is presently 90 years old, and she is still living alone in her single-family house.

I visited this facility

I know Briarwood well. I've had patients there, I've been to lots of meetings there (as a geriatric care manager), I know the staff pretty well, and I have a friend whose mom was there. It's right up the street from the hospital in Needham and a short distance from downtown. They have a unit primarily for rehabilitation, a unit for specialized care (mostly end of life dementia care) and long-term skilled nursing care.
It's a older 2-story brick building--in good condition.
The nursing is quite good. The CNAs are adequate; the care is good but basic.
The food is just adequate. I've eaten with residents, and it's pretty institutional. The activities are also just adequate. They do a lot outdoors in their garden, which is a good. Otherwise, they offer mostly mundane activities.
One other plus: It's privately owned by an individual who's involved in the community and very interested in making sure it's well run.
Overall, it's a little better than a 3 but not quite a 4.

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Briarwood Healthcare and Nursing

Briarwood Healthcare and Nursing is a nursing home in Needham, MA that provides patients with skilled nursing care as well as private or shared accommodations. Contact Briarwood Healthcare and Nursing for more details on housing, services, and rates.

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